


Home Sweet Home

by kolis10



Series: Trophy Case [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dollhouse Fusion, Amnesia, Artist Steve Rogers, BAMF Steve Rogers, Captivity, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, Multiple Personalities, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Steve Talbot is the trolliest of Steves, Stockholm Syndrome, casual naked shower conversations, sort of-ish - Freeform, they don't think of themselves as captives anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 15:07:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6429154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kolis10/pseuds/kolis10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A look into a normal day in the Trophy Case</p>
            </blockquote>





	Home Sweet Home

**Author's Note:**

> So this takes place the day after part 1 ends. I had originally planned for Part 3 to be Part 2 but I realized i needed a part like this to make things in part 3 make more sense. Basically this part is a little break from the main story to set up some stuff for the future & a nice little way for me to cram some exposition down your throats. Also I wanted to get in some Steve/Rumlow porn here, but they ended up barely interacting. Sorry. Like I said before, I'm using several elements from Dollhouse but a lot of stuff is different here, & that should be most clear in this part.

Steve’s eyes slowly open onto the dark room. The only sound is the soft breathing of the man that lay next to him. Steve turns his head to smile at Brock; he looks so peaceful while he’s sleeping, instead of just feigned calm confidence.

Quietly, he slips out of bed & makes his way out of the bedroom. Brock has a conference call with the Benefactor in the Director’s office later, so he should get some sleep.

After he changes into his workout clothing & deposits his pajamas into the laundry chute Steve heads off to the gym. On his way over he is stopped by a loud yawn. When he looks up he finds the source, leaning lazily on the upstairs railing outside of the treatment room.

“Good morning Doctor Fringe”

Dr. Fringe was still in her fuzzy slippers & light purple pajamas, but with a lab coat worn over it. She pushes the brown hair that slips into her face underneath her sleep beret. No one ever sees her without some sort of headwear.

“Ugh, Steve, how can you choose to be up at this ungodly hour?” she groans.

“Well, you know what they say about the early bird & the worm.” he replies.

“But you don’t have anything scheduled for today. There is no worm for you.”

“Well this gives me plenty of time to go out & find one.”

Doctor Fringe raises a curious eyebrow at him. “We are still talking in metaphors, right?”

“Yes Doctor Fringe.”

She breathes a sigh of relief. “Good. The last thing we need is a repeat of the ‘raining cats & dogs’ fiasco.”

Steve chuckles to himself. _That was an interesting day_.

“What are you doing up so early, Doctor?”

“Boss man’s panties are all in a tizzy ‘cause of the call from ‘you-know-who’ & he wants to go over some things with me.”

Steve has never met the Benefactor but everyone who works at the Trophy Case seems very wary of him, even Brock, Dr. Fringe, & the Director. Of course Steve & the others have had many questions about the person who founded this place & brought them here. But they’ve also learned to accept that none of those questions will ever be answered. But even so…

“What kind of things?”

“Can’t say; top secret, hush, hush.”

“You got it.”

She winks back to him before heading into the treatment room. Steve should be headed off as well.

When Steve got to the gym he had expected to spend his time there alone, so it was a pleasant surprise when, after a few minutes, someone starts to run on the treadmill beside him.

“Natasha, when did you get back?”

For about the past two months Natasha had been getting sent off on an engagement. Except it wasn’t a mission per se, just the preparations for one; at least that’s what they were told. Whatever it was must be very complex for her to be sent out so often. Even Clint recently got dragged into it.

“A little while ago” she replies, her voice calm & steady, despite the fact that the speed on her machine is a little bit higher than his. “I didn’t feel like going to sleep though.”

“Oh” Steve replies as he adjusts his treadmill’s settings just a tiny bit. “Is anything wrong?”

Natasha gives a small smile as she also ups her speed in just the slightest “No, just wasn’t tired is all.”

“And Clint?”

“Well I don’t know what he got himself up to, but he’s out like a light.”

They both share a small laugh as the increase the settings on their machines again. It’s a game they play, one that usually ends up without a winner, but they enjoy it all the same.

“What about Yelena?”

Natasha’s smile doesn’t drop, in fact it barely falters, but to someone who’s lived with her as long as Steve & the others have, that ‘barely’ is more than enough to be telling.

“She’s fine. She had some things to deal with, after.”

Steve doesn’t push the subject. Of all the people who manage their care & engagements, Yelena’s always been the most- confusing. Sometimes it’s like she loves being there with them, & other times it’s like it pains her to. She can get especially confusing where Natasha is involved. Maybe that’s why she was chosen to be Natasha’s handler during engagements.

“I heard you got back from a mission too, last night. Did you have fun?”

“You know I don’t remember what happened on the mission, Nat.”

“I know; I was talking about after the mission.” She says with a smirk that causes Steve’s entire body to go much redder than the treadmill has.

It’s ridiculous that he still gets this way when someone mentions it; it’s not like he & Brock are some sort of secret.

“Yeah I, I guess it was pretty enjoyable.”

“You guess? Looks like the Commander needs to step up his game a little.”

It’s better when Natasha laughs, even when she’s making fun of him. Heck, especially when she’s making fun of them. So they laugh & they increase the settings on their machine once more.

Clint & Thor are already in the showers when they arrive.

“Good morning friends” Greets Thor enthusiastically as Steve turns on the water.

“Good morning Thor, Clint.”

“I thought you’d still be asleep” Natasha says to Clint as she steps under the spray from her faucet.

“Honestly, so did I. Ugh, it feels like I drank an entire brewery.” Clint complains while softly massaging shampoo into his scalp.

“I guess massive hangovers are just one of the hazards of our job” Steve jokes as he lathers up his arms with soap.

“Perhaps our friend simply cannot hold his ale?” adds Thor.

“Hey, I can hold my ale just fine” Clint argues “the trouble comes from trying to juggle the ale with copious amounts of whiskey, scotch, & tequila.”

Natasha groans “Whatever they’ve got you doing it can’t be worse than my job. I woke up with glitter in my hair.”

Suddenly new voices can be heard as two more people enter the showers.

“Bruce; c’mon Brucie, it’s a good idea.” pesters Tony as he & Bruce turn on their faucets.

“Guys, please help me out here” pleads Bruce.

“What’s he up to now?” Steve asks.

Tony holds his hand up to his bare chest, positively scandalized. “I am not up to anything” he says, receiving a room full of eye-rolls for his trouble “I am simply proposing a little social experiment with a fellow scientist.”

“He’s trying to set me up with Sophie.” blurts Bruce.

“Dr. Fringe?” Clint ponders aloud & then, “yeah, I guess I could see that.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Whenever you find yourself getting angry, she’s the one who keeps you calm.” Natasha points out.

“Aye & you seem to have a soothing effect on her as well.” Thor adds.

“You’re the only one who always calls her by her first name.” Steve says, without turning away from the spray of water.

“Whenever you guys talk about brain stuff, you get these little heart eyes.” Clint says.

“Okay, you guys are being ridiculous” Bruce says as he washes his left foot “I have only professional respect for Soph… Doctor Fringe. Besides, she’s seen into the deepest corners of my brain. She’s seen what’s there, & even though she doesn’t seem to be repulsed by it, it’s still too personal. It’d be like dating my urologist.”

“Except she’s not your urologist” Tony interrupts “she’s a twenty-seven year old neuro-specialist who happens to think you’re sexy.”

“She does not think I’m sexy.”

“Hand to God.” Tony swears.

As a new discussion regarding the level of Bruce’s ‘sexiness’ heats up, Steve focuses his attentions back to lathering up his chest. He doesn’t even flinch anymore when his hand runs over the small circle of strange writing printed over his heart.

It was one of the great mysteries that had bonded them when they were first brought together. They each had writing like this but in different sizes, & on different parts of their bodies. Thor’s ran across his stomach. Natasha’s, down the back of her neck while Tony’s wrapped around his like a collar. Clint’s writing was hard to spot at first because it was small & right below the hairline. Bruce’s writing is also above his heart, but unlike Steve’s ring, his is in the shape of a large jagged gash.

The strangest part is that only the six of them seem able to perceive these markings; not even the Director knew about them before they asked him about it. But that also meant instead of just not getting answers, there was no one who even had the answers to give; except maybe the Benefactor, whom they’d probably never meet.

But that also means there’s no point in dwelling on it.

______________________________________________________________

When they don’t have engagements scheduled, their days are pretty much up to them. Thor & Natasha go to yoga. Clint made a beeline straight for the shooting range after the shower. Bruce headed for his office & Tony; well Tony didn’t actually say what he was going to be doing.

Steve is outside in the garden maze. Even though the experiences they have on engagements are removed from them, if Steve focuses hard enough he can draw upon some abstract images & sensations which might just be memories. And then he draws what he sees.

Without any sort of context they usually end up being rather odd & this time was no different. When he puts down his pencil he seems to have ended up with a beautiful man with angel wings, dancing in the sky, surrounded by a flock of metal turkeys.

 _Turkeys don’t even fly_.

There is one other thing that keeps skimming the surface of Steve’s brain. Something about a scientist, but when he tries to grasp it, it slips away; rustling off like leaves.

Except, those are actual leaves he’s hearing. Steve looks up from his sketchpad & sees a beautiful blonde woman with shoulder-length hair stroking her hand across the hedge wall as she walks. She is wearing tight leather pants & a sleeveless white t-shirt. A gun rests holstered on her hip, but he knows there are many more weapons on her that he doesn’t see.

“Good morning Steven.” She greets him, her Russian roots accenting her speech.

“Miss Belova.” He tips his head towards her with a smile “Beautiful morning, if I do say so myself”

“Quite; too bad it’ll probably end up being a crappy afternoon.” She says with a sigh as she sits down on the bench next to him.

“Right, I heard about your meeting with the Benefactor in a few hours.”

“For some reason, he can never seem to check in with us without making our lives miserable.”

“He does seem to have a habit of distressing the Director.” Steve says.

“Which makes our lives miserable. Nice picture by the way.”

“Thanks; I have no idea what could’ve inspired it though.”

Yelena holds his sketchpad up for a closer look. “Take it from me Steven. This is a strange world we live in, & sometimes the most important things make the least sense.”

Steve recognizes that look on her face; it’s the same look he notices on Natasha when she’s thinking about something painful.

“Yelena. If you don’t mind my asking; did something happen between you & Natasha while you were gone?”

Yelena shifts her gaze upwards towards the hedge.

“Catherine & I simply had a disagreement is all.”

Catherine… That’s the name of the Persona that Natasha was given for her engagement. Steve breathes out a small sigh of relief.

“So the problem is with Catherine, not Natasha.”

“You’re sweet to care Steven, but there is no problem.”

Yelena stands & pats him on the head. At first Steve was convinced that she started doing that because she knew he didn’t like it; but like her, it’s kinda grown on him. Maybe she thought the same about them.

“Is it something I can punch?” Steve tries again as she starts to walk off “’Cause I could punch it really hard.”

And finally her face is doing that odd laughing, without actually laughing, thing that she & Natasha seemed to have mastered at some point in their lives.

“I know you could, Steve.” then she turns the corner of the maze & is gone.

With a sigh, Steve takes another look down at his sketch.

 _Needs more guns_.

__________________________________________________________

It’s lunchtime when the visitors arrived. Three men in expensive suits that Steve’s certain he’s seen before. Past clients, but that doesn’t matter right now. He returns his attention to the cooking instructor (They’re doing sushi today) while the men are escorted up to the Director’s office.

His lesson is interrupted a few minutes later when one of the nurses walks up & tells him that’s he’s needed for a treatment. That’s strange; normally their treatments are scheduled in advance, unless it’s an emergency. No matter though; he still stands & says goodbye to the instructor while the others continue their work with octopus.

“Hello Steve; how are you doing today?” Dr. Fringe greets him as she powers up the treatment chair. She has changed out of her pajamas & is now wearing her lab coat over blue jeans & a t-shirt for a band Steve’s never heard of. A purple, ladybug fez adorns her head this time.

“Very good, Doctor. May I have my treatment now?”

“Coming right up; just sit yourself down.”

Steve smiles when she laughs at her own little joke & lies back down in the chair. The back of the chair reclines so that his head is cradled by a piece of machinery, the top part of which comes up & over to cover Steve’s eyes. As the lights in front of his eyes blink blue, Steve braces himself for what comes next. He compares it to the floodgates of a dam opening up, & another person flowing into him; except he doesn’t know when he learned how dams work. He just knows that it feels very discomforting at first, but then it’s peaceful, like falling asleep. The flashing lights become a solid purple, & Steve’s body tenses up as his mind is flooded. Before he falls asleep though, he can hear Dr. Fringe’s voice, muffled & distant.

“Sweet dreams Steve. Hello Mr. Talbot.”

______________________________________________________________

When the doors to the Director’s office open Steven Talbot walks in like he owns the place. He has no reason to be so cocky right now but the client doesn’t need to know that; quite the opposite in fact. Confidence shows the people that they’re getting their money’s worth. Plus he has on an Armani suit & sunglasses just for this impromptu meeting, so he might as well flaunt it a little.

The Director is looking out of the wall-length window & only his neatly-combed black hair & the back of his suit are visible. Rumlow stands behind the couch that the visitors are seated at, dresses in combat gear but with minimal weapons. The two older visitors, Steve doesn’t recognize, but the youngest man is the agent that had tried to order him & Crossbones around last night. Talbot smiles & comes to parade rest in front of them.

“You asked to see me Director Laufeyson?” Talbot says without taking his eyes off of the clients. He’s certain that Rumlow has already assessed the threat level but it never hurts to have a second opinion.

“Yes I did. Gentleman, this is Mr. Talbot.” chimes the Director’s smooth voice from behind him. Director Laufeyson steps up next to him & gestures to each of the guests, one by one.

“This is Mr. Arthur Saccs, he is a CEO at Waylon Industries.” he introduces the man at the far end of the couch. He is in his late-fifties, wearing a tan suit, & the majority of his brown hair comes from a bottle. Steve shakes his hand.

“This is Doctor Isaac Chao; he is the head of Research & Development at Waylon Industries.” This man is even older than Saccs; he has a bald patch on the top of his head & his suit is noticeably wrinkled. Steve shakes his hand then moves in front of the man standing next to the couch; he’s been side-eyeing him since he got here, with a hand at his weapon.

“Agent Graham Forrester” the man introduces himself, holding out his hand. Steve accepts, & when Forrester’s grip increases a little, it’s only polite that Steve reciprocates. Forrester might’ve been successful in hiding his wince if Talbot hadn’t been anticipating it.

“What can I do for you today, gentleman?” Steve asks politely.

Mr. Saccs stands & speaks. “We wanted to thank both you & Mr. Crossbones personally for your assistance. You were both invaluable in furthering our company’s goals”

“You shouldn’t worry about it. I try to be my best & I’m sure I can say the same for my partner.” Talbot looks over to Rumlow who simply nods in acknowledgement. “Besides, that’s what we’re paid for.”

“You get paid too?” Forrester says, stepping back into Talbot’s personal space “I wouldn’t have guessed; considering…”

“Considering what?”

“Considering that you’re not real; unless they pay you in imaginary money” Forrester answers with a sneer.

Rumlow makes a move towards them, but Steve gives him a subtle signal warning him off.

“You’re right Agent Forrester; I’m not what one would refer to as real.” Steve’s smile & unwavering gaze seem to unnerve the man, but not as much as when he swiftly unholsters the other man’s weapon & holds it up underneath the agent’s jaw. Chao almost falls right off the couch in shock when it happens.

“I’m not real, but this gun is real & I assume the bullets inside it are real. So tell me Agent Forrester; if I pulled the trigger, would you really be dead?”

“Mr. Talbot” is all that the Director says, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice. And it probably would be a bad idea to give one of the clients a heart attack in his office.

Talbot twirls the gun around in his hand & holds it up in the air by his trigger finger.

“Sorry boss; just a little joke.” But he never takes his eyes off of Forrester, who snatches the weapon back from him.

Doctor Chao picks himself up & fruitlessly tries to straighten out his suit.

“What’s wrong with him; did he malfunction?”

And Steve can’t help but roll his eyes at the word _malfunction_ , as if he’s just some sort of computer program… _although he does technically come from a computer_. But could a program be as deadly as he is? _Again, yes; & probably with less effort_. But he looks damn good in a suit _… so there’s that_.

“My apologies gentleman” says the Director as he walks over to the couch “You see, when crafting an Active Persona for our Trophies’ engagements we have two routes to choose from. The most common would be to make a Closed Alternate Persona, or CAP, who exists solely to fulfill a specific need by being a specific person. They wholly believe that they are that identity, because that identity is all that they know.

“Mr. Talbot on the other hand is a Long-term Omni-Operational Persona, or LOOP; & before you ask, I did not come up with the names. LOOPs can be sent out on many different assignments, usually for the Trophy Case’s personal interests, & are fully aware of the nature of their existence. It does nothing to detract from their performance, as Mr. Talbot’s results speak for themselves. However, they can still be a tad sensitive about it.”

“What would be the purpose of something like that?” Saccs inquires “What’s the advantage over just using a CAP?”

“The LOOPs gain intelligence after each engagement because they are allowed to remember & grow from those assignments. The even retain memories from the base persona. Tell me Mr. Talbot; what did Steven have for breakfast this morning?”

“Two egg white omelets with bacon & gouda, side of sausage, extra side of bacon, stack of waffles, fruit salad, & a protein shake, strawberry kiwi.” Talbot recites without a hitch, but then he looks over the incredulous faces of the men from Waylon.

“What? We have a very high metabolism.”

“As I was saying” continues Laufeyson “these traits allow for the sort of mental flexibility that the CAPs lack, which makes them much more versatile.”

“This is all very informative Mr. Laufeyson, but it’s not the main reason we’re here.” States Dr. Chao; apparently fed up with all the drama.

“Of course” The Director walks back to his desk & pulls a key out of his breast pocket. He unlocks a drawer & sets the contents down on the desk; the glasses containing Dr. Frieze’s knowledge of Project Ares.

“That’s it?” asks Saccs as he moves towards the desk.

“Every scrap of information in the good doctor’s head related to Project Ares.” The Director confirms “It may take some sifting through, but I assure you, it’s all there.”

Now Dr. Chao is at the desk, staring straight at the glasses. “And someone only need put them on to have that knowledge transferred directly to their brain? This is incredible.”

“Incredible is what we do here” says Talbot, earning a scowl from Forrester & a strange appraising look from Chao.

“Yes, I must say I agree” says the doctor softly before pocketing the glasses & turning his attention back to the director. “I believe that concludes our business here.”

And with a round of polite handshakes & not-so-polite glares (mostly involving Agent Forrester) the visitors leave, but Talbot still manages to listen in on them even after the door is closed.

_“With all due respect sir, my men could’ve handled the mission just fine. We never should’ve gotten into bed with these freaks. Last night, that Talbot guy was going around, toting a shield like he was Captain Goddamn America!”_

Talbot frowns. Why is it that no one seems to be able to look past the shield & see him for who he is? As if being a Persona didn’t give him enough self-esteem issues.

“Hear anything interesting Mr. Talbot?” the Director asks from behind Talbot’s back.

“They’re merely having a discussion regarding the overall sanity of our establishment” Steve answers honestly, because any other reaction would be akin to admitting that the Director managed to both, sneak up on, & scare the piss out of him; which of course, would never happen.

“Well, that was a huge waste of time” Brock says his first words as he splays himself out on the couch.

Talbot picks up the bottle of scotch that rests on the coffee table. “Well I had fun; I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Talbot nods to the Director & suddenly they each are holding a glass. Talbot walks around & fills each of them before hopping down on Brock’s lap.

“Boots off of the upholstery, Rumlow.” says Laufeyson.

With a roll of his eyes he seats himself upright forcing Steve to move out of his preferred seating & settle for being side by side.

“That was quite the show you put on, Mr. Talbot.”

“I thought you might appreciate it.” Responds Talbot before taking a small sip of his scotch “Lighten the mood around here before you-know-who comes calling.”

“Gee, thanks for reminding me.” Brock grumbles before taking a rather large gulp from his own glass.

“Well Crossbones, if you really wanna ditch, I could take your place. Just give me your costume, I’ll gruff up my voice a little & The Benefactor will never know the difference.”

“First of all; for the thousandth time, it’s a uniform”

“Of course it is Rumlow” Laufeyson says.

Brock simply demonstrates an inappropriate hand gesture to the Director before continuing. “Second; The Benefactor is not someone you wanna meet; he’s not someone I want you, any part of you, meeting.”

Steve nods his head deeply in consideration.

“Those are some fair & interesting points Brock, but here’s my rebuttal. First of all, the purpose of a uniform is to group together members of the same organization. Since it happens that you are the only person in the whole entire world who dresses like that, it is by default not a uniform, but a costume.” This earns him a huff of amusement from the Director.

“Second, you people make this guy seem like the actual Boogeyman or something when, from what little I actually know about him, he just seems to be a pain in your asses. Back me up here Double-L.”

Laufeyson almost does a spit take when he hears that, “I’m sorry; what did you just call me?”

“You don’t like it?”

“I have titles, not nicknames.”

“Fair enough” Talbot shoots to his feet & walks over & opens the door “Unless I’m needed for anything else, good day gentleman.” & he shuts the door behind him.

“Hmm”

“What is it?” Rumlow asks the Director.

“He still has my scotch.”

_____________________________________________________________

Talbot finds the others in the gym, watching a sparring match between Natasha & Thor. At the moment, the blonde seems to have the upper hand, but there’s no such thing as a sure win with Natasha. Talbot doesn’t know where she got her skills; & neither does she, for that matter; but it’s moments like watching her effortlessly flip up over the arm of a man three times her size & put him in a chokehold with her thighs that makes him a little jealous.

“I come bearing the gift of inebriation” Talbot decrees as he walks up to the mat, bottle of ill-gotten scotch held high.

Clint is the first one to step up & reach for the tumbler, “Hey, thanks Steve.”

Talbot holds the bottle away from him with a click of his tongue, “Guess again, Clint.”

The frown on Clint’s face is quickly wiped way after a moment of realization.

“Talbot?”

“In the flesh, so to speak”

Tony pats him on the shoulder “Been a while since you stopped by man.”

“On the contrary, I was just here last night. You just missed me because, unlike you punks, I don’t have a bedtime.”

“Is that why they shoved Steve in there almost as soon as you got back?” inquires Bruce with a raised brow.

“What can I say, he needed our beauty sleep.”

“Now that, I can believe.” remarks Thor, earning a bout of laughter from everyone, including Talbot himself.

It always makes him kinda proud when one of them is able to do something like come up with a good burn. Whenever one of the LOOPs sticks around for a visit they can’t help but feel like wise, worldly older siblings; & what’s the fun in that if their little brothers & sister can’t occasionally surprise them. They’ve all come so far, especially considering how things were at the beginning of all this.

“All right, quit yacking & hand it over” demands Clint.

Tony scoffs “Weren’t you the one who was complaining all morning about how much you apparently had to drink last night.”

“Yeah, but that was all the way back then.”

“Do you think you might have a problem Clint?” Talbot asks innocently as he passes the man the bottle.

“Hey, I have no idea when’s the next time I’ll be able to have a drink & actually remember it.”

By the time the scotch has made three rotations (And still managed to remain miraculously full) Natasha has stepped back onto the mat.

“So Talbot, you wanna show me what you’ve got; or are too afraid to get that nice suit dirty?”

As Talbot stands he carefully removes his jacket, then after rolling up his sleeves he bends over to take off his suede shoes.

“Thank you for your concern Nat; but one of my more impressive skills is keeping other people’s blood off my clothes.” he says confidently as he steps up to an unfazed Natasha.

“All right people” shouts Tony, who has almost managed to beat his record for external silence “We’ve got the Red-headed Russian roulette vs. Talbot the Terrible; I’m taking all bets!”

“Tony, we have nothing to bet with.” Bruce points out.

“Details, details”

The two of them circle the mat slowly, sizing each other up. Talbot may be confident but he’s under no illusions when it comes to himself or the other Trophies. Each of them, even when it’s just their base persona, has something that makes them dangerous. For both Steve & Natasha, it’s their enhanced physical ability; but where Steve’s power is blunt & forceful, hers is sharp & precise. Of all of them, Natasha’s the only one whose combat skills as a base persona are comparable to that of a LOOP or a combat persona. He respects that, really he does; but that doesn’t mean he’s gonna let anyone show him up.

It’s difficult to say which one of them finally made the first move, as they were both clashing within an instant. Punches were blocked, kicks were ducked or dodged, elbows were twisted & ribs were struck, hair was pulled!

“Hey, that’s dirty!”

“Suck it up Talbot; it’ll grow back.”

After several minutes of back & forth Talbot finally spots an opening. A real opening this time, not just another trap Natasha’s set to try to lure him in. He is about to deliver the finishing blow when a strong voice cuts through the commotion.

“Natalia”

Everyone’s gaze turns towards Yelena at the entrance to the gym.

“You have an engagement early tomorrow & the client would be upset if you showed up with bruises.”

Natasha gracefully untangles herself from Talbot & steps away from the mat.

“I guess we’ll have to call this one a draw Talbot” she says from over her shoulder.

“Sure, even though I was just about to win” hey, no one ever programmed him to be the beacon of maturity.

“Of course you were Talbot” responds Yelena flatly “although I wonder how you would fare against someone without limitations imposed.”

“If you’re implying that I need a handicap to win a fight Ms. Belova, then why don’t you step on up & prove it?”

“That ego of yours is going to get Steven in trouble one day Mr. Talbot. But not right now.”

Yelena hands Natasha a towel which she slings around her shoulders. Then the two of them are off without another word. Talbot turns back to the group gathered around him.

“Yelena’s not so scary. You guys think I could take her, right?”

“I think it helps if you believe that” says Bruce

“Who asked you jerks anyway?” Talbot laughs & raises the bottle of scotch to his lips “C’mon, let’s see if this thing actually can go empty.”

___________________________________________________________

 

Sophie barely manages to make it to her desk before collapsing. The call with the Benefactor hadn’t been as bad as it could’ve, but it still sucked. In addition to the detailed list of improvements each of them should strive for (how is it that they’re being judged by someone whose never even been here?), the staff got a bunch of new protocols to observe & somehow the Benefactor managed to draw up more contracts with Waylon Industries. Since when did he care who they took engagements for, as long as they took good care of his precious Trophies.

“Doctor, Doctor; give me the news!”

Sophie groans as she lifts her head from the desk & sees Talbot leaning against the door, already changed into a pair of Steve’s pajamas; she sighs & adjusts her fez. Talbot doesn’t wait for her to tell him to sit in the chair.

“Talbot have you been going around getting everyone drunk with Loki’s magic refilling scotch?”

“I think you’ve been working too hard Dr. Fringe, you’re starting to sound a little crazy. But on a completely unrelated note; could you return this for me?” he smiles, holding up the still full bottle.

She takes the bottle & then takes a swig “Will do.”

But suddenly Talbot is sitting back up.

“Before we get started, do you think Bruce is sexy?”

Sophie’s hands are suddenly all over the place & her mouth seems to have forgotten how to form coherent words.

“Bu- I- Wha- Come again?”

“Bruce” Talbot repeats nonchalantly “sexy or no?”

“Wh- where is this coming from?” Sophie asks, trying to compose herself.

“It’s just that we’ve noticed that Bruce doesn’t get sent on as many engagements as the rest of us & I think it’s starting to mess with the poor guy’s confidence. Of course I know he’s got nothing to worry about & it’s probably just insufficient advertisement or something.”

“So, Bruce is upset, because he thinks people don’t want to buy his body as much as the rest of you?” she asks slowly.

“We all have our little irrationalities.”

Sophie shakes her head. Is she really having this conversation right now with a Persona?

“Bruce is more valuable within the Trophy Case as a physician. Also, the fact that his anger issues can manifest within other Personas makes him an unstable element on engagements.”

“Right, yes, of course; but you still haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Do you think” Talbot enunciates “Bruce is sexy? I need something to cheer the guy up & I doubt calling him an unstable rage machine is gonna do the trick.”

“Talbot, I think it might be time to wake Steve up now…”

“Oh come on!” Talbot whines “If you tell me now, I’ll never bother you with this again; scout’s honor.”

“You are nowhere close to being a boy scout.” Sophie says flatly.

“But Steve probably was, & if not, you can just make him into one. C’mon Fringe-y, you know you’re dying to tell someone; you love gossip, even your own.”

“You are working with some very flawed logic, pal.”

But then he’s giving her one of Steve’s special ‘puppy dog’ looks & she knows she’s lost. She can’t help but tremble internally at the horror they’ve created; a guy as slick as Talbot, armed with one of the world’s most earnest faces.

“Bruce” Sophie thinks she literally feel her cheeks melting right now “is very sophisticated & mysterious, & his brain fascinates me greatly. And yes, he is kinda… sexy.”

“Now was that so hard?” Satisfied, Talbot lies back down in the chair, smugness radiating from him.

“You’re the devil.”

And as Sophia enters the commands into the computer she almost thinks she hears Talbot say _‘you have no idea’_ back, but it must be the hum of the machine confusing her. Why would he say that?

“Good night Mr. Talbot.”

________________________________________________________________

When Steve wakes up in the chair Dr. Fringe is giving him a strange look.

“Was I dreaming?”

She doesn’t respond immediately, which is odd, & she keeps looking at him weirdly.

“Only for a little while” she says it slowly, as if trying to gauge his reaction. But why would she be doing that?

“Are you alright Dr. Fringe?”

Dr. Fringe sighs & adjusts her fez, even though it already looked fine in Steve’s opinion.

“I’m fine, it’s just the conference with the Benefactor then Talbot came in acting all weird.”

“Weird how?” Steve asks, & that’s odd; it kinda looks like Dr. Fringe is blushing.

“Just- just weird in general; you know how Talbot gets when he goes too long without a mission to distract him.”

Steve nods; he’s pretty sure he’s being fed a story, but he nods anyway. It probably doesn’t matter.

“May I go now?”

“If you wish”

For some reason Bruce, Tony, Clint, & Thor are all standing by the stairs when he gets there. Bruce’s face is the color of a tomato.

“Hi everybody; what’s going on?”

Tony pat’s him on the back as they walk down the stairs.

“Oh, nothing much; Talbot just did us a little favor.” Tony says as he reaches into Steve’s shirt & pulls something small & metal off of him.

_How long has that been there?_

Steve shrugs the thought away. He can ask about it later.

Steve decides to sleep in his own bed tonight, so when their bedtime comes he follows the others into the large living chamber. The six of them say their goodnights to each other & the six glass panels in the floor slide open. Steve steps down into his chamber & lies down on his side on the special foam. Today was a pretty good day, even though he was asleep for half of it. Still; worm gotten.

As the glass silently closes up above him, Steve drifts asleep for the last time today.

Good night everybody.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is confused as to why I keep switching between writing Steve & Talbot, it's because even though his name is Steve Talbot everyone just calls him Talbot. He will only respond to the name Talbot but internally he refers to himself as both. Also, if it wasn't clear, (because I'm so subtle, lol) Talbot's a little teeny bit crazy, but he gets the job done. Each of them has a LOOP which hopefully I can introduce as the story progresses.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy it & would be happy to answer any questions you might have in the comments.


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